ContextMatters

Facebook Messenger Becomes a Platform Following F8, Facebook’s semi-annual developer conference in 2014, I suggested that Facebook was evolving from a social network into a bona fide social ecosystem. In 2015, we can see that Facebook is thinking beyond the unbundling of its popular features but also turning them into independent and connected platforms. Following this year’s F8, Facebook introduced new features for payments within Messenger as well as opening direct lines of communication between users and businesses. Additionally, Facebook…

Ellen Pao Loses Suit; Wins Awareness for Gender Discrimination The news is everywhere; Ellen Pao lost her discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. At the same time, she’s being credited for disrupting how Silicon Valley does business. USAToday’s Ellen Weise joined the conversation to share her experience in the courtroom and her thoughts on the case. Twitter Partners with Foursquare Did you know that Foursquare is still alive and kicking? Did you also know that Foursquare is also…

Jumping the Shark Has Jumped the Shark SXSW is a special event. It is what you make it and what you allow it to be. And, that’s what makes it both personal and serendipitous. That doesn’t stop people from asking every year whether or not SXSW has jumped the shark. Did you know that jumping the shark was a Happy Days reference? Chris and I talk about why SXSW is important and we speak to attendees about why they travel…

Facebook’s Suicide Prevention System Social media bullying is an unfortunate reality. The heart-breaking cases of suicides are frequently in the news these days. At the same time, social media is serving as a new window into our ourselves, our emotions, our states of mind and being. Sometimes, expressions indicate intentions, actions are reflect signs of help. Facebook introduced a new suicide prevention feature, but is it enough? With social media comes great responsibility…and that takes technology and human engagement. Cocaine…

Medium vs. Twitter Have you used Medium the >140 version of Twitter? During the early days of social media, platforms such as WordPress and Blogger offered technology and networks to anyone with something to say. Over the years, blogging would give rise to a new generation of authoritative, engaging and entertaining voices that might not otherwise found their stage. At the same time, new social channels would emerge that would introduce a subtler more rapid form of publishing that focused…

Three weeks in and three episodes are now online. Chris Saad and I really got into these topics in the latest episode of ContextMatters. There are parts that are charged and definitely NSFW. We stray a bit away from tech to tackle timely subjects related to journalism and the future of social media as well as the hotly debated topic of vaccinations. Schedule Topic 1: First up is Brian Williams and the controversy surrounding his news coverage in Iraq. We…

I’m proud to introduce you to “Context Matters,” a new podcast hosted by my good friend Chris Saad and yours truly. This is a long time in the making and we finally committed to this series as a long-term program. Context Matters explores discussions at the intersection of business, technology and culture. My co-host, Chris Saad (@ChrisSaad) is a geek at heart and a long-time player in the startup community. Saad the co-founder of The Echo Experience Studio and spends…